Pressurizing closure for packaging of kimchee products

ABSTRACT

A device for placing inside containers of Kimchee and other fermented food products to maintain the pressure over the solid content and to remain soaked in liquid during transportation and shelf-life promoting even quality throughout the on-going fermentation process.

BACKGROUND

KIMCHEE, a variety of salted and spiced cabbages, radishes and other vegetables, has been a staple of Korean cuisine for many centuries. With the commercialized distribution of this volatile food product, maintaining the quality of the content during the transportations and shelf-life have become an important issue for the commercial success of the product. One of the issues is that the solid content should be pressurized to be kept completely submerged in the liquid content and not left to rise above the liquid level, to prevent the exposed part from drying.

With the on-going fermentation process after the packaging the solid content will expand due to the gas produced from the organic microbial activities. The expansion of the solid content itself degrades taste as it results in loss of crispiness. It also causes the solid content to rise above the liquid level, resulting in uneven fermentation process, which will leave the top portion above liquid level dry and wilted, degrading overall quality of the product.

Traditionally preventing the expansion and rise of the solid content above liquid of Kimchee was achieved by keeping a heavy rock to press the Kimchee in an earthen jar. This traditional solution is not practicable for modern commercial packaging and distribution given the movements the containers will be subjected to during the commercial distribution process, among other concerns. The present invention solves the problem of maintaining the pressure over the packaged fermenting vegetables and keeping the content under the liquid level through the commercial distribution of the product.

SUMMARY

The present invention incorporates a device of enclosure for packaging Kimchee, their variations and other products with similar characteristics such as pickles, where it is desirable that the solid content remain pressurized within its container and kept under liquid during commercial distribution processes.

An object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a means to press the solid content of the fermenting vegetable, such as Kimchee and maintain submerged under the liquid level during the distribution process involving transportation and shelf-life, where it is desired for maintaining the even fermentation or freshness despite the natural tendency to expand and float above the liquid level.

The solid content, comprising of vegetable, of a Kimchee product goes through fermentation process that turn the texture of the vegetable from crisp to limp as time goes on from the loss of Turgor pressure resulting from the organic activities. This is aggravated if the solid content is not maintained under liquid. During the initial packaging, the product would be packaged with preset combination or ratio of solid and liquid content, under-fermented anticipating the expected shelf-life. However during the distribution process, the fermenting will continue, resulting in swelling or increase in volume of the solid content due to the gas productions within the vegetable. The increasing buoyancy of the solid content will also leave the top part of the Kimchee float above liquid, resulting in dry and limp, hence in less desirable condition. As the consumer will be tasting the very top part of the product in the container first after purchasing the product for consumption, this initial bad quality will leave a negative impression to the consumer.

The pressurizing insert, made of food grade plastics such as high density polyethylene in the shape of an inverse rimless hat and placed between the content and the cap or lid of the container, is designed to maintain pressure against the vegetable of the packaged Kimchee products. pressurizing insert is will maintain the pressure on the solid content through its fermentation process.

The pressurizing insert has a set of strategically placed openings to address the initial and subsequent change in the liquid level. The holes on the bottom part of the insert address the initial escape of the liquid content. As the insert is pressed against the content with the closing of the cap, the bottom part of the insert will press against the content. The liquid content will initially escape through the holes and pool into the inner part of the insert. However the holes will be blocked by the solid content making further travel of the liquid impossible after the initial closure.

During the transportation and shelf-life, with the ongoing fermentation process, solid content will expand. With the overall expansion of the contents due to the increase in gas content among the fiber of the vegetable level of the liquid will rise within the container. The expansion and increased liquid level can possibly cause overflowing or a small explosion of the cap unless adequate space to guide the liquid level is provided.

The vertical openings on the rim part of the insert are designed to address the problem by allowing the liquid to travel after the bottom holes are blocked, and equalize the liquid level by providing space for the excess liquid to be stored during the fermentation process.

The initial embodiment of the pressurizing insert assumes round cap as used in a typical pickle-jar style container. However, as Kimchee is sometimes packaged in rectangular or square box-shaped containers with hermetic seals, the rim of the insert can be shaped following the shape of the container with the same or equivalent cross-sectional structure as in the round ones.

It is It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, appended claims, and the accompanying exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings, which are briefly described below.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a prospective view of the pressurizing insert.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the pressurizing insert(s) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the pressurizing insert as employed in a typical packaging, a jar in this case, with a screw cap.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of the pressurizing inserts stacked according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a prospective view of an embodiment of the pressurizing insert 10 to be inserted between a hermetically sealable lid or cap 11 and the solid content 12 inside a typical jar-type container for Kimchee or other fermented vegetables.

FIG. 2 shows the cross-sectional view of the pressurizing insert 10, showing the vertical openings 18 on the rim 17.

FIG. 3 shows schematic a cross-sectional view of the pressurizing insert 10, in a typical jar-type container according to an embodiment of the present invention. The hermetically sealable lid, a screw cap in this embodiment 11, presses down the pressurizing insert 10, over the solid content 12, letting the liquid 19 escape through its holes 14.

FIG. 4 shows the cross-sectional view of the pressurizing inserts 10 stacked. The tapering of the rim 17 facilitates stacking of the individual inserts for ease of packaging and transportation as well as ease in insertion into the package in actual use.

The round holes 14 on the bottom surface 15 are designed to allow liquid to escape into the inner part 16 of the pressurizing insert during the initial packing. The pressing and closing the cap 11 will initiate escaping the liquid through the holes 14 but also result blockage of the holes by the solid content being pressed by the bottom surface 15. The slits or vertical openings 18 on the rim 17 of the insert allow travel of the liquid within the container during the shelf-life after the initial closure of the cap.

The pressurizing insert 10 has two sets of strategically placed openings to address the initial and subsequent change in the liquid level. The holes 14 on the bottom surface 15 of the pressurizing insert address the initial escape of the liquid content. As the insert is pressed against the solid content 12 with the closing of the cap 11, the bottom surface 15 of the insert will press against the solid content 12. The liquid 19 will initially escape through the holes 14 and pool into the inner part 16 of the insert. The size of the insert will vary to fit the container to be placed. Likewise, these multiple holes on the bottom surface may be in diameters between 1 mm and 30 mm, which size as well as the thickness of the pressurizing insert will be dictated by the size of the container and its opening. Both the size and placement of the holes will have to correspond to the overall size to maintain the shape of the insert when pressed against the intended solid content without collapsing. Also, the tapering angle of the rim of the pressurizing insert will be within the angle to add to structural strength and not to cause crumbling when subjected to pressure. The optimal angle should be less than 30 degrees but more than 1 degree to allow stacking.

The holes 14 will be blocked by the solid content 12 when pressed agains it, making further travel of the liquid 19 impossible after the initial closure. During the transportation and shelf-life, with the ongoing fermentation process, the liquid level will rise due to expansion of the solid content. The vertical openings 18 on the rim of the insert equalize the liquid level by allowing the liquid 19 travel through the vertical opening 18 and into the inner part 16 of the insert and vice versa. These multiple vertical openings or slots 18 on the rim may be widths between 1 mm and 20 mm, perpendicularly and strategically placed not to induce collapsing of the insert when pressed against solid content, while allowing the liquid within the container travel in and out of the rim of the pressurizing insert.

In another embodiments where the container is not round, the pressurizing insert may be shaped following the opening of the container and to fit the lit for that container, while maintaining a similar profile as shown in the crosssectional view of the FIG. 2. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A closure for a container of Kimchee, and other pickled or fermented food with solid and liquid content, comprising of a cap to seal the container hermetically, and a pressurizing insert designed to be secured on the open end of the container and inside the container between the solid content of the container and the cap on the open end of the container to maintain pressure against expansion of the the solid content and to keep the solid content submerged within the liquid content, and above-described pressurizing insert comprising of: a bottom surface with holes and a rim connected to the bottom surface with vertical openings.
 2. A pressurizing insert as set forth in claim 1 with multiple holes on the bottom surface, strategically sized and placed to maintain shape when pressed against solid content without collapsing.
 3. A pressurizing insert as set forth in claim 1 with multiple vertical slots, on the rim perpendicularly and strategically placed not to induce collapsing of the insert when pressed against solid content, while allowing the liquid within the container travel in and out of the rim of the pressurizing insert.
 4. A closure for a container comprising of cap and pressurizing insert as set forth in claim 1 where the cap and the pressurizing insert are round.
 5. A closure for a container comprising of cap and pressurizing insert as set forth in claim 1 where the cap and the pressurizing insert are square.
 6. A closure for a container comprising of cap and pressurizing insert as set forth in claim 1 where the cap and the pressurizing insert are rectangular.
 7. A pressurizing insert as set forth in claim 1 where the rim of the pressurizing insert is shaped in tapering profile to allow it to be stackable. 